Combination rescue hook and life preserver



Oct. 15, 1963 R. A. DWYER I ;3

COMBINATION RESCUE HOOK AND LIFE PRESEljWER Filed Aug. 22, 1960 saw 7 INVENTOR.

36k 38 ATTORNE Y5 United States Patent 3,106,726 COMBINATION RESCUE HOOK AND LIFE PRESERVER Russell A. Dwyer, R0. Box 312, Wolverine, Mich. Filed Aug. 22, 1960, Ser. No. 51,194 2 Claims. (Cl. 9-14) This invention relates to life-saving devices and, in particular, to marine lifesaving devices.

One object of this invention is to provide a buoyant rescue hook which is adapted to be used to reach a person drowning or in distress in the water and haul the person out of the water while the rescuer holding the hook is standing upon the deck of a boat, dock, shore or other convenient location, the rescue hook being buoyant so that it can be thrown into the water to a person beyond the reach of the hook and thereby serve as a life preservcr until the person in the water can be picked up.

Another object is to provide a buoyant rescue hook of the foregoing character which is of hollow lightweight metal construction with closed ends to entrap air and impart buoyancy, the rescue hook having a long handle portion at the end of which is a large diameter hook portion capable of encircling the Waist of a person in distress in the water.

Other objects and advantages of the inevntion will become apparent during the course of the :following description of the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the buoyant rescue hook of the invention, with a long section of the elongated handle omitted to conserve space and enable use of a large scale illustration; and

FIGURE 2 is a right-hand view, in front elevation, of the hook end of the rescue hook shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIGURES 1 and 2 show a buoyant rescue hook, generally designated 10, according to one form of the invention. The rescue hook 10 consists of an elongated hollow or tubular handle portion 12 containing a flotation chamber 14 and closed at its end by an air-tight cup-shaped sealing cap 16 secured thereto in any suitable way, as by welding. Integral with the handle portion 12, which may be of any suitable length, such as 8 or 10 feet, is a hollow hook portion .18 of suflicient diameter to encircle the waist of a person, for example, approximately one foot in diameter on the center line of the chamber 14, which also extends through the hook portion '18 from the handle portion 12. The hook portion 18 is also hollow and approximately semi-circular and is joined to the substantially straight handle portion 12 by a shallow longradius reversely-bent connecting portion 20 at the points 22 and 24 respectively.

The hook portion 18 terminates in a reversely-bent end portion 26 joined thereto at the end 28 of its circularlycurved main portion 30, so as to provide an outwardlyturned end adapted to guide a person or other object into the hook portion 18. A sealing cap 3-2 is secured to the end portion 26 in a manner similar to the sealing cap 16 to provide an airtight chamber 14 which extends from the cap 16 to the cap 32. The chamber 14 may contain air or other buoyant gas or light plastic foam 33 or similar buoyant material. A gap 34 occurs between the end portion 26 and the connecting portion 20.

The rescue hook 10 is conveniently made from aluminum alloy tubing bent to the desired shape, and conveniently of one inch diameter. A one-inch No. 20 Studs gauge aluminum tube with a wall thickness of 0.035 inch has been found satisfactory in providing both the necessary strength and buoyancy. The rescue hook 10 is kept or mounted in a location convenient for use at docks, swimming pools, on board boats or other places where rescue operations are likely to be required and where it will be readily available. Upon arising of such an emergency, the rescuer grasps the elongated handle portion 12 of the hook 10 and extends the hook portion 18 toward the person to be rescued, endeavoring to encircle the :distressed persons waist, neck, arm or leg by moving it through the gap 34 into the hook portion 18. When such an encirclernent has been accomplished, the rescuer pulls the person to safety by means of the elognated handle portion 12. It will also be evident that the hook is capable of rescuing animals from the water or of recovering articles dropped into the water, par ticularly those of a buoyant or temporarily floating nature.

The cap 16 is preferably provided with a lug 36 welded or otherwise secured thereto and containing a hole 38 to which a heaving line (not shown) is connected. Then, if the person in distress is out of reach of the rescuer grasping the handle portion v12, and if the rescuer is unable to move into proximity to the distressed person, the rescuer heaves the rescue hook 10 like a spear o-r javelin toward the person in the water, retaining a grip upon the heaving line. As the hook '10 is buoyant, it floats, and the large air chamber provided by the hollow portion 14 provides sufiicient buoyancy to help hold up the person and prevent him from drowing. The rescuer then hauls in the heaving line to tow the rescued person to him. The rescue hook 10 of the present invention when provided in a motor boat, sail yacht or other small boat also serves as an efiicient boat hook for aiding in mooring or docking the boat and for grasping the anchor line, anchor chain or mooring ring of a mooring buoy.

What I claim is:

1. A combination rescue hook and life preserver comprising an elongated water-tight closed tubular body having thin walls with a flotation chamber extending substantially throughout said body,

said body including a hollow approximately semicircular hook portion of sufiiciently large diameter to encircle the waist of a human body and a hollow elongated handle portion connected to said hook portion, the length of said handle portion being a multiplicity of times the diameter of said hook portion.

2. A combination rescue hook and life preserver, according to claim 1, wherein said tubular body at the 'end opposite said hook portion is provided with a line-connecting element having a hole therethrough for the reception of a heaving line.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 684,868 Robinson Oct. 22, -1 1,612,044 Oliver Dec. 28, 1926 1,695,009 Cochran Dec. 11, 1928 2,702,910 Ake Mar. 1, 1955 2,802,222 Chapman Aug. 13, 1957 2,889,797 Fox June 9, 1959 2,924,291 Tunstead Feb. 9, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 320,831 Great Britain Oct. 24, 1929 716,635 Great Britain Oct. '13, 1954 

1. A COMBINATION RESCUE HOOK AND LIFE PRESERVER CONPRISING AN ELONGATED WATER-TIGHT CLOSED TUBULAR BODY HAVING THIN WALLS WITH A FLOTATION CHAMBER EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT SAID BODY, SAID BODY INCLUDING A HOLLOW APPROXIMATELY SIMICIRCULAR HOOK PORTION OF SUFFICIENTLY LARGE DIAMETER TO ENCIRCLE THE WAIST OF A HUMAN BODY AND A HOLLOW ELONGATED HANDLE PORTION CONNECTED TO SAID HOOK PORTION, THE LENGTH OF SAID HANDLE PORTION BEING A MULTIPLICITY OF TIMES THE DIAMETER OF SAID HOOK PORTION. 